Memory and the Timeless Time of Eros

Abstract

This paper deals with the perception of time. Chronometric time dominates the rhythm of modern daily life. But in the backstage the inner consciousness of time remains nearly unaltered. Hence, the task of phenomenological psychology is to resolve the paradox of the twofold perception of time. The key to the riddle is remembering. For the modern cognitive approach remembering is considered a construction which is made largely on the basis of chronometric time. I would argue instead that remembering is primarily a matter of feeling or affection. A strong affection is that of love, which overwhelms men and women with great intensity. This experience is analogous in structure and function to involuntary memory which surprisingly brings back lost sensations. When one compares the two famous examples of involuntary memory in the works of Marcel Proust and Henry Miller, the first thing that emerges is something of the nature of Epicurean Eros, the complement of Stoic Logos. According to this idea memory throws light on the timeless time of erotic love as the primary source of personal identity.